A unit in assertive communication strategies for the workplace was developed and tested with approximately 45 juniors and seniors at a Utah high school. For 4 weeks of a 6-week grading period, the students were exposed to basic information on verbal and nonverbal communication and administered a survey designed to tap their individual value system…

Discusses how Discovering in Mathematics course at Hobart and William Smith colleges undoes damage done to women's sense of themselves as failed mathematics learners during their precollege years. Notes that course helps students who have previously had difficulty with or who dislike mathematics by paying special attention to barriers encountered…

Discusses several postulates of empowerment theory particularly relevant to guiding the practice and analysis of substance-abuse prevention and education programs. The empowerment model predicts that the empowerment of students and staff will increase both the effectiveness and the longevity of programs. (EMK)

The State of the Science conference was held in May, 2007 as part of the ongoing series of national conferences, "Building on Family Strengths," conducted by the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health at Portland State University. The theme of this State-of-the Science conference was "Effective…

Offers experience-based insights on building relationships of trust and respect with hard-to-reach youth. Describes a program, designed for 12- to 14-year olds on juvenile probation, which emphasizes love and respect. Argues for the futility of fixating on problem behaviors and the importance of providing youth a challenging and fun environment.…

Tested the psychometric properties of an instrument used to assess adolescents' empowerment concerning alcohol. Empowerment was significantly and inversely associated with alcohol use after controlling for peer influence and self-efficacy. Suggests that psychological empowerment is theoretically meaningful and is significantly associated with…

Presents results from a study investigating the effects of professional training on teachers' use of observations to assess elementary students. Describes the training program and its focus on professional empowerment, strategy development for observation-based assessment, and learning the value of peer support. Reports that participants'…

Seven basic tasks are presented that must be accomplished for successful residential treatment of multiply abused children, and methods are described to achieve each task. The tasks are: empowering the children, respecting their need for privacy, helping them to feel safe and creating "safety nets" for them, building and supporting their defenses,…

This study addresses the impact of functional adult literacy on the empowerment of women in the absence of formal schooling. It examines whether the effects of functional literacy are exclusively content specific or whether there are gains going beyond the obvious benefits and extending to other spheres of everyday functioning, such as…

Through the American Legacy Foundation's Statewide Youth Movement Against Tobacco Use (SYMATU), programs aimed at empowering youths to take action against tobacco use were funded. It is believed that the activities these groups undertake result in changes at the community level. This article examines the relationships between community support of…

Background: Fostering the innate need to lead, teach and care for others is fundamental to creating a just and moral society. The nurturing begins early in life and becomes especially vital during the adolescent years, when peer pressure and the need to belong are heightened. Unfortunately, many youths believe leadership is associated with being…

This study addressed the efficacy and outcomes of a U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrition Education Training (NET) project designed to increase awareness of health risk and wellness factors for grade 9 high school students. The study also considered the empowerment fostered by the program and measured changes in the health and nutrition…

This study was designed to increase student empowerment through the use of formative assessment. The targeted population consisted of first and fifth grade students in the same school. Evidence for the existence of the problem included teacher observation, students' lack of knowledge and skills to complete classroom assignments, and low test…

This digest discusses the use of faculty mentoring programs to empower faculty and ultimately benefit the institution and improve the quality of higher education. It refers to the literature on mentoring in terms of conceptual frameworks, mentoring arenas, and roles and functions of mentors and proteges. It briefly addresses the following aspects…

This report discusses the use of faculty mentoring programs to empower faculty and ultimately benefit the institution and improve the quality of higher education. It synthesizes the literature on mentoring in terms of conceptual frameworks, mentoring arenas, and roles and functions of mentors and proteges. The first section provides a general…